Man's Best Friend
by wackyjacqs
Summary: Dogs. They're his favorite type of people. Random oneshot, set sometime after S8 'Threads'. S/J.


**A/N: Set a couple of months after the events of Threads; purely, because there is no doubt in that my mind that Jack and Sam are a couple – and happily married – at this stage. **

**Written in honor of today's 'bizarre' holiday – National Dog Day.**

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**Man's Best Friend**

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Sam looked out the front window of the General's house for the fourth time in as many minutes. Silently berating herself, she folded her arms across her chest and tried to calm her nerves. She had been unsettled ever since the General had called her half an hour ago.

Huffing out a short breath, she realized it was no use. She started pacing up and down the short hallway, chewing on her bottom lip in anticipation. She briefly glanced at the phone resting on the small tale and before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed it and punched in the well-memorized number. Sam's finger hovered over the dial button when the sound of an engine could be heard.

Slamming the phone back down, she made her way back to the window and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She then turned on her heel and made her way to the front door – and coming face to face with one Jack O'Neill sporting an impossibly wide grin.

Sam didn't return the smile, instead launching into the thoughts that had been running around her head.

"What's wrong? Has something happened at the base? Are Daniel and Teal'c okay?"

Her questions came out like rapid fire and the General stepped over the threshold towards her.

"Woah, woah, woah!" he shouted in amusement as he held up a hand to stop any further onslaught of questions. Sam's mouth snapped shut, but she only waited a few seconds before speaking again.

"What's the emergency?"

Jack frowned. "Huh?"

"You called and said I wasn't to leave the house. What's wrong?"

"Oh! _Oh._"

The clarity that had flitted through Jack's expression just moments beforehand was suddenly replaced with discomfort. Clearing his throat, he rocked back on his heels and refused to meet the eyes of the woman standing before him.

Sam watched him carefully. Canting her head to the side, she realized she had misunderstood the crux of the conversation... whatever that was. She narrowed her eyes.

"What did you do?"

She waited as the General shifted from foot to foot. "Uh… Well, everything's fine, so you don't need to worry," he started, waving a hand vaguely around. He was stopped from going any further, however, when Sam repeated her question.

"_What did you do_?"

Jack opened his mouth to respond, only to change his mind at the last second.

"Wait here," he ordered, before turning on his heel and heading back out to his truck. The bemused Colonel was left to glance around the empty space waiting for his return. When a few minutes had passed, her patience wore thin; she was just about to see what was taking Jack so long when she froze. A noise drew her attention.

She had heard that noise before, but it had been years ago. Shortly after Cassie arrived on Earth, to be precise. Sam's eyes narrowed before going impossibly wide at the implications.

"Oh, he didn't," she murmured, taking a step forward.

It was all she could do before she heard the noise again.

_Yes, that definitely sounded like..._

Briefly closing her eyes, she took another step forward, then another. She was just short of reaching the front door when she heard the rattling of metal, followed by the source of the noise.

In shock, Sam stood and watched as a small golden Labrador puppy scrambled up the front steps to the house and into the hallway, only for its paws to slip on the wooden surface, and it slid the rest of the way, coming to a stop at Sam's feet. Her eyes snapped to Jack's the moment he entered the house.

"I see you're getting acquainted already," he quipped.

When his wife didn't respond, he stepped towards the dog, hesitating slightly when Sam crouched down and picked it up to stop it clawing at the bottom of her jeans.

"_Surprise!_" he said a little too brightly.

"He or she?"

"Uh, she," Jack answered carefully.

"Hmm… She's cute," she eventually replied with a slight smile, holding the pup in front of her face. "Does _she_ have a name?"

"No. Not yet," Jack said, moving closer.

Slowly, Sam met his eye. "I thought you were joking this morning when you said we should get a dog."

A grin formed on the General's lips. "You should know by now, Carter, I'm _always_ serious when it comes to dogs. They're my favorite people."

When a raised brow that even Teal'c would have been jealous for was his response, he realized what he had said. "Of course… you're one of my favorites too."

Sam resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

They fell into a comfortable silence and Jack watched as Sam scratched the back of the puppy's ear. He closed the remaining gap between them and ran the back of his index finger over the dog's head. Meeting Sam's eye, he grinned. "So, whaddya say?"

It took a few moments, but he heard the soft sigh escape his wife's lips before she acquiesced. "Yes, we can keep her."

Jack resisted the urge to punch the air in victory, especially when he saw Sam's smile morph into a smug smirk. "Besides," she added, her attention returning to the puppy, "I think she's going to be my new favorite."

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**A/N: Just a little silly oneshot, which tends to happen when I'm sleep deprived. :) **

**I just wanted to take this moment to thank each and every one of you who has read, favorite, reviewed or shared my fics. The support I've received since I started writing never ceases to amaze me.**

**I'd also like to thank the lovely person(s) who nominated my stories, 'Crash Into You' and 'Hidden Meanings In Everyday Conversations' for this year's Sam & Jack Multimedia Awards. There are so many amazing works up for awards – check it out if you haven't already!**

**Lastly, I know I have two or three, possibly more, unfinished fics on here. I promise I will get around to finishing them; I know how annoying it can be to start reading a story, only for the author to just abandon the idea for an eternity! But, I will complete my stories some day, as soon as I can. I'm going through a major transition period in my life at the moment; it's terrifying, but also kind of liberating, but my fanfic writing has fallen by the wayside as a result. **

**I genuinely am sorry for the wait – I will try not to keep you all waiting too much longer for updates!**

**_wackyjacqs_**


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